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all the rest I single out you, having a message
 * for you:

You are to die—Let others tell you what they
 * please, I cannot prevaricate,

I am exact and merciless, but I love you—There is
 * no escape for you.

Softly I lay my right hand upon you—you just
 * feel it,

I do not argue—I bend my head close, and half-
 * envelop it,

I sit quietly by—I remain faithful, I am more than nurse, more than parent or neighbor, I absolve you from all except yourself, spiritual,
 * bodily—that is eternal,

(The corpse you will leave will be but excrementitious.)

The sun bursts through in unlooked-for directions! Strong thoughts fill you, and confidence—you smile! You forget you are sick, as I forget you are sick, You do not see the medicines—you do not mind the
 * weeping friends—I am with you,

I exclude others from you—there is nothing to be
 * commiserated,

I do not commiserate—I congratulate you.